Having journaled on an almost daily basis since I was a young girl, writing has always been a necessary and important part of my creative life. A very personal and private creative act. Approaching the blank page from a stream-of-consciousness place has always allowed me to access the deep layers within — to let thoughts and feelings flow freely, giving them life, light, breath and space to find their way to the surface, making the process of discovery a satisfying journey as it flowed from my pen to the page.

So imagine my surprise this past February of 2022 when a bubbly and spirited young mermaid came bursting forth with an important tale to tell. In no time at all, she let me know who she was and what her concerns were — that we’ve no time to waste in cleaning up our oceans, seas and waterways — and that everyone can help! As a result, I now had to take my personal journaling into the public storytelling world… so here I am/ we are… A writer becomes an Author and a Mermaid becomes a Community Leader!!!

I was raised in New York, along the waterways of the Atlantic Ocean, the Long Island Sound and a flowing brook that I could follow for miles. Now, I call Santa Barbara, California home where you can often find me walking and cleaning up beaches while searching for sea glass treasures that I can incorporate into my art.

As a long-time swimmer, mermaids have always held a special appeal to me. As a lover of all waterways — oceans, seas, rivers, brooks, lakes — and the earth itself, it seemed natural and fitting to bring forth so many personally meaningful elements into this story. Especially since the condition of our earth and its waterways along with the life within them are taking unfavorable turns with all the environmental harms they encounter. Thus, we must all do what we can to clean-up our earth, our oceans, our homes so we can continue to enjoy the beauty and life they offer us.

Creativity called me starting from a young age — whether through the lens of a brownie camera, journaling, or running my small hands through the wetness of finger paints on smooth paper. These things delighted me even though it wasn’t until many decades later that I followed that interior calling to the creative world through clay. That was a big and bold step based upon the world I came from.

Turning the earth into forms — some forms that I called forth and others that were determined by the clay itself — was a magical process. Learning that there were no “mistakes,” only bends in the road that took me down a new path to a new form, shape, or expression was both humbling and exciting.

Nature — the perfection in its own unique imperfections — plays a large part in my inspiration. So do my emotions and the internal messages that run through me. I would say that’s where my journey of creating begins— Something needs to be said or revealed and I find a way to say it/ show it. Thus, a continual evolution through mediums and messages, colors, emotions and nature.

Since my foray into the clay, I have learned that I love putting things together — using my hands and imagination to strike up new images, forms and possibilities with a wide variety of materials, such as stones, sea glass, old bottles, feathers, driftwood, etc. It’s the process that engages me and the beauty and its expression that entices me. It often seems that life and self are seen as a continually evolving puzzle. Thus, it is the putting together of separate pieces to form a whole and right feeling feeling fit that makes the process so enjoyable.

My hope is that others enjoy the beauty, questions, new formations I pose and create.